Patty Mills

At 35 years old, Patty Mills has this physical status:

Patrick Sammy Mills (born 11 August 1988) is an Australian professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's San Antonio Spurs.

Mills was chosen by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 55th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft after playing two years of college basketball for Saint Mary's.

Mills was born and raised in Canberra, Australia, and is of Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Australian descent.

Michael Ah Matt (1964) and Danny Morseu (1980–84), the third Indigenous basketball player to play for Australia behind Olympians Michael Ah Matt (1964) and Danny Morseu (1980–84).

Mills returned to Australia in 2011 to play for the Melbourne Tigers of the National Basketball League, during the NBA lockout. (NBL).

Mills returned to the United States in March 2012 and signed with the San Antonio Spurs, where he has remained ever since playing in China with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers.

Mills was a solid contributor off the bench and was instrumental in the Spurs' victory over the Miami Heat in 2014. Mills is a regular member of the Australian national team, the Boomers.

Early life and family

Mills was born in Canberra, Australia's capital city. Benny, the father of Mills' son and his mother, Yvonne, is an Aboriginal Australian (Kokatha), the niece of a white man and an Aboriginal woman. She and her four siblings were taken from their parents by the Australian state following their parents' separation in 1949. She is a member of the Stolen Generations. Mills has said that learning of his mother's past was a "turning point" in his understanding of his identity as an Indigenous Australian.

Danny Morseu, the second Indigenous Australian to represent Australia in basketball at the Olympics, is Mills' uncle; he will be the third in the event, thirty years later. He is the uncle of rugby league players Edrick Lee, Brenko Lee, and fellow basketball player Nathan Jawai. Eddie Mabo, Mills' great uncle, is a pioneer of Indigenous land rights.

Personal life

Mills met long-time girlfriend Alyssa Mills (née Levesque), who was also a college basketball player, while both students were enrolled in Saint Mary's College of California. They were married in Waimea Valley, Hawaii, on July 8, 2019.

Mills was presented with the keys to Canberra in July 2014, a year after the Spurs' championship triumph.

Mills co-wrote a series of books for young readers with Jared Thomas, which was released in 2018 as Game Day! This is a competition collection.

In the Australian Football League, he is a supporter of the Adelaide Crows.

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Early basketball career

Mills played basketball for the first time as a four-year-old in a local Indigenous club that his parents founded called "The Shadows." He was the ball boy for the Canberra Cannons of the National Basketball League as a youth (NBL). David Patrick, Mills' future coach at Saint Mary's College of California, played for the Cannons at the time and established a friendship with the Mills family.

Mills played underage Australian rules football at a high level in addition to playing basketball. He had aspired to play in the Australian Football League (AFL), but decided against focusing on basketball instead. In 2005, he made a good showing at the Australian Olympic Youth Festival, an annual showcase for emerging elite sports talent.

Mills attended Marist College in Canberra, but they were unable to attend the Australian Institute of Sport and Lake Ginninderra College at the end of 2004.

Mills was given the prestigious RE Staunton Medal at the U20 Nationals in Perth in January 2006. Mills, who was a member of the 2006 Junior National Men's World Championships, was instrumental in Australia's victory over New Zealand and qualifying for the 2007 Junior Men's World Championships. Mills was a member of the World Junior Select Team in April that defeated the United States in the Nike Hoop Summit for the first time. Mills was named the SEABL U/21 Australian Youth Player of the Year for 2006, averaging 18.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game and assisting the AIS in their 16-2010 regular season record. He finished third in assists in the SEABL this season, averaging 4.37 per game.

Mills was also selected in the Australian Boomers squad in 2006, the youngest player in the team's 22-man extended squad. He was named the 2006 Junior Male Player of the Year at Basketball Australia's annual Junior Basketball Awards in July. At the 2006 Deadly Awards, Mills was named "most promising new sports talent." The Deadlys Awards honor Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders' contributions in sports, music, entertainment, and community. Mills was named by the NAIDOC as the 2006 Australia Basketball Player of the Year and the National Sportsperson of the Year, in addition to receiving the Deadlys Award.

College career

Mills pledged to play basketball for Saint Mary's College of California in November 2006. Lucas Walker and Carlin Hughes, both Australians, joined the Gaels in the 2007-08 season.

Mills was named Newcomer of the Year and was given All-WCC First Team accolades for the first time since the 1988–89 season. In 32.1 minutes, he appeared in all 32 games for the Gaels as a rookie, including a team-high 14.8 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.8 steals. In a game against Oregon on November 20, 2007, he tied for points in a season for 472, and set the school freshman record for points. In addition, he was named WCC Player of the Week for the third time on Monday, November 24th, and 19 February.

Mills averaged 18.4 points, 3.9 assists, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.2 steals in 32.1 minutes as a sophomore in 2008-2009, and was named WCC Player of the Week twice (24 November and 8 December). For his second year in a row, he was named to the All-WCC First Team.

Mills declared for the NBA draft in April 2009, after losing his last two years of college eligibility.

Professional career

Mills was the first Saint Mary's player to be drafted since 1981 when he was selected with the 55th overall pick by the Portland Trail Blazers on June 25, 2009.

Mills suffered his fifth metatarsal in his right foot during workout on Monday and was eventually barred from the NBA Summer League. He signed a Trail Blazers contract on October 16, 2009. Mills was sent by the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League on December 29, 2009, after completing rehabilitation.

Mills was called up to the NBA by the Trail Blazers on January 4, 2010. Mills made his NBA debut on Friday night. He was sent back to the Stampede on January 13th and was recalled on January 23rd. Mills appeared in ten games with the Trail Blazers during his rookie season, averaging 2.6 points in 3.8 minutes. In Portland's regular-season finale against the Golden State Warriors on April 14, he scored a season-high 11 points. He also appeared in three playoff games for the Trail Blazers.

Mills appeared in 64 games for the Trail Blazers in 2010, averaging 5.5 points and 1.7 assists in 12.2 minutes. In Portland's regular-season finale against Golden State on April 13, he scored in double figures ten times and a career-best 23 points. He also appeared in two playoff games for the Trail Blazers.

Mills returned to Australia to play in the National Basketball League due to the 2011 NBA lockout. (NBL) He signed with the Melbourne Tigers on August 29, 2011, apparently rejecting lucrative offers from a number of European clubs. Mills scored a game-high 28 points in an 82-76 victory over the Sydney Kings in the Tigers' season opener on October 7, 2011.

After being given a cheque from a Chinese team, the Xinjiang Flying Tigers, Mills was released by the Tigers on November 20th. He averaged 18.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game in nine Melbourne games.

Mills was released by Xinjiang after being out for ten days due to a hamstring injury for ten days. Mills wanted to return to the Portland Trail Blazers after the NBA lockout ended on December 8, 2011, but the Chinese Basketball Association could not promise that he would have FIBA status until March. Mills was fired by Xinjiang for allegedly faking the hamstring injury, according to reports later; Mills denied that his hamstring strain was faked. He averaged 26.5 points per game in 12 games for Xinjiang.

Mills signed with the San Antonio Spurs on March 27, 2012. Mills had career highs with 34 points and 12 assists in his first NBA double-double against the Golden State Warriors on April 26, 2012. Mills recorded the highest single-game point for an Australian in the NBA, defeating Andrew Bogut's 32 points in January 2010.

Mills re-signed with the Spurs on July 13, 2012. Mills scored a season-high 23 points in the Spurs' second game of the regular season on April 15, 2013 against Golden State, a 116-106 loss. The Spurs advanced to the 2013 NBA Finals, where they lost in seven games to the Miami Heat. Mills missed the final four games of the NBA Finals due to an absces removal on his right foot.

Mills played his player option to return to the Spurs for the 2013-2014 season on June 24th. Mills shed weight and reduced his body fat during the offseason. Mills played in a career-high 81 games, including two starts, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in a career-high 18.9 minutes. After clocking 1,737 minutes in his previous four seasons combined, he logged 1,527 minutes in 2013–14. Mills was a key contributor to the Spurs' return to the NBA Finals in 2014, where they met the Miami Heat again. Mills scored 14 of his 17 points in the third quarter to help the Spurs beat the Spurs 104-87 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

The Spurs agreed Mills to a three-year, $12 million deal on July 11, 2014. Due to a shoulder injury, he missed the first 31 games of the 2014-2015 season.

Mills beat the Memphis Grizzlies 116–103 in Game 5 of their first-round series on April 25, 2017, scoring a post-season high 20 points on 5-for-7 shooting.

Mills re-signed with the Spurs on a four-year, $50 million contract on August 4, 2017. Mills became the third Spur to make 500 3-pointers as a reserve on December 4, 2017, defeating the Detroit Pistons 96–93; the others are Manu Ginóbili and Matt Bonner. Mills became one of only three Spurs to score 3,000 career points as a reserve on Sunday, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 109–91; the others are Ginóbili and Malik Rose. Mills made his fourth appearance on the Spurs' list of all-time 3-pointers on February 25, 2018.

Mills was the only Spurs player to make more than 120 3-pointers in five seasons in March 2019.

Mills made his 1,000th NBA 3-pointer on January 19, 2020. He is the first Australian player to reach that milestone.

He became the tenth player in Spurs history to play in 600 games with the team on December 29, 2020. Mills, the Spurs' longest-tenured player, is the only one on the roster with a member of the Spurs' NBA championship-winning squad in 2014. As of December 20, only two NBA players--Udonis Haslem of the Miami Heat and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors—had been with their respective clubs longer than Mills had been with the Spurs longer than Mills.

Mills set a record for the most 3-point shots made for one team as a reserve on January 18, 2021. Mills defeated Andrew Bogut's record for the most NBA games played by an Australian by playing his 706th game on March 14th.

Mills signed with the Brooklyn Nets on August 10, 2021. Mills made his Nets debut on October 19th, scoring 21 points on 7-of-7 shooting from deep in a 127–104 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Mills set a new league record in his debut with a new team for the first three games. In the first two games of the season, Mills became the first player to shoot a flawless 10-of-10 from the three-point line on October 22. Mills defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-96 on Tuesday, scoring 29 points on a career-high nine three pointers.

Mills scored 17 points against the Cavaliers on Tuesday to overthrowrown Andrew Bogut's NBA record for most points scored by an Australian. Mills played a career-high 43 minutes on 7-of-14 from three opponents on December 14th, including the game-tying three that sent the game to overtime. Mills scored 34 points on 8-for-13 from three on a 122-115 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in a 122–115 victory. His eight three-pointers tied for the most three-pointers made on Christmas Day, breaking the record for the most three-pointers made.

Mills re-signed with the Nets on a two-year, $14.5 million deal on July 10, 2022.

National team career

Mills made his senior national team debut for the Boomers at the FIBA Oceania Championship in 2007. Mills was Australia's third Indigenous basketball player to play for Australia, behind Olympians Michael Ah Matt (1964) and Danny Morseu (1980–84). He appeared for Australia at the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament and represented his country in the Beijing Olympics, where he averaged 14.2 points per game. Mills went on to represent Australia in the 2010 FIBA World Championship and 2011 FIBA Oceania Championship before representing his country once more at the 2012 London Olympics. Mills had the highest scoring average at 21.2 points per game at the 2012 Olympics, ahead of Kevin Durant of the United States, who averaged 19.5 points per game.

Mills competed for Australia in the 2013 FIBA Oceania Championship. He appeared in the 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship two years ago. He appeared at the Rio Olympics in 2016 in sixth place.

Mills was the first Indigenous Australian to carry the Australian flag at the opening ceremony for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, alongside swimmer Cate Campbell. Mills, as captain, helped Australia win their first-ever Olympic medal in men's basketball by scoring 42 points against Slovenia in the bronze medal game. His appearance in the Tokyo 2020 All Star Five for the men's Olympics basketball tournament earned him a spot as the shooting guard.

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